The old guard at Newcastle United is set to be extended with interim manager Joe Kinnear in talks with Gerry Francis to join his team.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers boss has been out of the game since leaving Bristol Rovers almost seven years ago and has most recently been seen as a weekly pundit on Sky Sports News.

Kinnear is short on backroom support as he looks to turnaround the club's fortunes, who have not won since the second game of the season and finally stopped a run of defeat with a comeback draw at Everton on Sunday.

Kinnear said: "There is only me and Chris (Hughton), and we have a lot of lads to work with. We need to work in smaller numbers.

"I have known Gerry Francis all my life, he's a great coach. I know he is tied up with media work so I put an offer to him to come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"He can do some solid work and I will pay him accordingly. He has no desire to be a manager or anything full-time. He won't be involved in anything on Saturdays.

"I feel we need someone with that experience. He will not be a number two or anything like that, I will be meeting him for a meal on Monday afternoon to discuss it. There is a good chance something will happen.

"If it is not Gerry I will still be bringing someone else in, to specialise in certain things in small groups - defence, midfield, strikers.''